Ace Attorney: Turnabout Spy
by britta204
Summary: Spy AU, notes in story, hope you all enjoy ;)
1. Notes

Okay, so before I start, thank you to everybody who views this story! My past stories haven't been the best and this one just popped in my head, so, hope you enjoy. Basically a spy AU. Rated T for murder and NaruMitsu, not sure yet ;)


	2. Chapter 1

"No! Dammit!" "Edgey, we got to get out of her-" "No! I'm not leaving him!" "Edgey, he's dead okay? Dead!" "No!" Edgeworth kicked one of the enemy agents. "I won't believe it unless I see his cold, lifeless body!"

* * *

"Thanks for suggesting me, Mia." "Anytime, Phoenix. I always knew you were spy material." "Even on the first day we met?" "Of course. Even though you were sick, I just had a feeling."

Mia led Phoenix down the dimly lit hallway, passing other agents. It was Phoenix's first day on the job, after training of course, and Mia was his director for the day. She was the one that suggested Phoenix to Chief Gant, head of the spy organization.

"How did your training go? You were gone for six months!" "Well, at first, I was terrible at everything. They almost booted me out until I beat Payne in one of the weekly wrestling matches." "You seriously didn't beat him before?" "Well, we only did the wrestling matches once a week. That was the first time I even attempted double legging somebody. Plus, they had one space too full. That's why they thought of getting rid of me."

Mia turned a corner, Phoenix following, shaking like a lost kitten in his black combat boots. "How did you do when they sent you to training, Mia?" "Oh, they didn't make me do training. I was a black belt in Judo and Jiu Jitsu, I knew how to use a sword, I wrestled for a little bit, and nobody even touched my butterfly knife."

Phoenix began shaking even more, scared of what he didn't know about his friend.

"Well, here we are. You'll get to see your team tomorrow. They're on a mission tonight." "What have you heard about them?" "Well, one's a little crazy, and the other sounds goth, but they really are kind at heart. My ex-boyfriend used to be on this team, but he went rouge. I'm sure you have heard about Godot." "Oh, I'm sorry. What happened to him?" "I killed him." Phoenix broke into a sweat, fearful of what Mia would do to him.

She opened the black metal door that read, 'B-19' and Phoenix stepped in, placing his new clothes on the bottom bed, figuring the other two boys took the top bunks.

"I hope you don't mind me asking, but how's your team?" "Oh, well my little sister, Maya is on it, plus a girl named Maggey. Maggey's a little clumsy, but gets the job done. My cousin, Pearl will join the team when she's old enough." "Oh, sounds cool."

Phoenix looked around the small room with bathroom over to the side. "Wow. Just a year ago, you had to take care of me. Now I know how to shoot a sniper and how to flip open a butterfly knife without cutting my hand." Mia giggled, leaning against the black door frame.

"Well, I hope you have fun. I'll see you tomorrow at breakfast." "Bye, Mia." Mia slowly closed the door, leaving Phoenix alone in the cold, empty room.

He decided to have a look at the top bunks to make sure they were taken. The one above his bed had clothes everywhere and the blankets were rustled. Phoenix looked across the room at the other bed. A few books were on the edge, plus notebooks. A bunch of black posters of probably rock bands hung up on the wall. _"Must be the goth's,"_ he thought to himself.

He climbed down the ladder, scared of what they would do to him if they found something out of place. He walked into the bathroom, taking a quick, cold, shower, and threw a huge white t-shirt on.

 _"Wow. Only 10 o'clock and I'm beat."_ Phoenix pulled the covers up and thought about what his team mates would be like, besides what he heard and saw. _"I wonder if either have a girlfriend. That's a stupid question."_

His eyes began to slowly close, covering like curtains until he feel into sleep.

* * *

"HEY!" Phoenix almost feel off the bed, due to the shout. "You the newbie?" He looked away from his bottom bunk to see a boy, probably the same age as him, standing like a drill sergeant, but looked funny in his boxer's "Oh, um, yes. My name is Phoenix Wright. Nice to meet you." "Hey! My name's Larry!" The boy, Larry, eagerly took Phoenix's hand.

"Edgey's in the shower now, but you'll see him soon." "Edgey?" "Yeah! That's what I call him anyway. His full name is Miles Edgeworth if you want to be formal, but I'm bad at names, so I do nicknames. Might call you by the wrong name too, Nick." "You already did." "Oh, sorry. What was it again?" "It's fine. You can call me Nick." "Okay, cool. How old are ya?" "Oh, I'm 24." "Oh, me too! Edgey's 23." "Okay. I'll make sure to remember that."

Larry leaned closer to Phoenix. "Edgey might give you a hard time," he whispered. "His dad was an agent and got killed by his girlfriend's dad. Not to mention Edgey's own teammate almost killed him. So go easy if he gets angry or anythin'." "Oh, sure. I understand."

Larry leaned back, stretching. "Who was your directer yesterday?" "Oh, Mia Fe-" "Mia Fey!? The sister of Maya Fey?!" "Um, ye-" "Oh my gosh! Dude! Maya's the best! She's cute, funny, and she's super nice." "Are you friends with her?" "Man, I wish. Every time I try to flirt with her, though, Mia comes in, threatening me with her butterfly knife!" Larry made a stabbing gesture, making Phoenix laugh.

"I didn't know Mia would do that." "Dude, you don't know anybody by first impressions." "Well, I had met her before." "Really? How? Where?" "It was kind of on accident. My ex-girlfriend made me eat this poison stuff, but Mia was on a mission at the time, actually going to arrest her because she had murdered others, so she saved me." "Before or after you ate the poison?" "What does that have to do wit-" "Everything." Phoenix sighed, glad he was getting along with Larry, but terrified of what was going to happen after that. "After." "Nick, your the one she was taking care of?" 'You know about that?" "Yeah. everybody that has been here for more than a year knows about it. They thought she was getting another boyfriend." "Wh-what!? No!" "That's what I thought."

The bathroom door opened for a boy to step out, looking young, but had gray hair, not to mention that his bangs looked somewhat like a bat. His ears had black earrings and he looked paler than most people, despite the hot shower and the steam.

"Hey," he said, not even turning to face Phoenix. "Names Edgeworth. What's your's?" "Oh, um, Phoenix Wright." "Welcome to the team, Wright." Edgeworth finally turned around to shake Phoenix's hand. He smiled and gladly shook it, however, Edgeworth had a stern face the whole time.

"I'm sure your directer told you everything?" "Yes." "Good. Once Larry's done with his shower, we can go eat." Edgeworth turned back around, putting the plain black t-shirt on. _"Didn't know someone like him would have a six-pack,"_ Phoenix thought, immediately regretting it.

"You took a shower last night, right?" Edgeworth asked, putting on a death black belt. "Yeah." "Okay, good. If you had to take one, then we would be late."

Edgeworth climbed on his bunk bed and grabbed a notebook. "So how did you do at training?" "Oh, well, I got through it. Near the end, I think I got way better." "Isn't that what you're supposed to do?" Edgeworth asked, smiling for the first time since Phoenix met him. "Yeah."

 _"Wow. This boy isn't half bad. I thought he was going to be really dark and scary."_ Edgeworth interrupted Phoenix's thoughts again. "What does Gant call you?" "What?" "What does Gant call you? He gives almost everybody nicknames, but only a few of the names stay once you actually join. Depends if he likes the new you or not I guess."

Edgeworth stayed on the top bed and set the notebook aside. He then started putting on his black combat boots similar to Phoenix's. "Oh, he calls me Wrighto." "Have you seen him since you started training?" "No. That's just the day I got suggested." "I see. Gant calls me Worthy. I guess he likes stupid nicknames." Phoenix stifled a laugh.

"Hey, Wright?" Edgeworth hopped down, both boots on and notebook in hand. "I'm sorry if I don't get close to you, Wright. If we become best friends or whatever, I don't mind, Just don't push it. It gets in the way of the job." "Oh, sure. I understand." _"I guess this is what Larry was talking about."_ "Glad you understand. Larry doesn't, that's for sure."

Edgeworth opened the notebook and started writing. Phoenix didn't want to invade Edgeworth's privacy, so he didn't ask about the notebook. He put the ink stained pen to his lip. "That's good," he mumbled.

Edgeworth stuck the pen in the notebook and threw it onto the bunk bed "LARRY! Come on!" "Almost done!" "I swear, if we are late because you needed to fix your stupid mohawk, I will kill you." "No need to be a jerk to the hair, Edgey." "I don't know if you have noticed, but I'm known for being a stuck up jerk." Phoenix smiled, glad that he chose team B-19.


	3. Chapter 2

Phoenix put on his black vest that everybody wore. 'B-19, Phoenix' was stitched onto his. Edgeworth held the door open and closed it when Phoenix and Larry came out, Larry still fixing his hair.

Phoenix saw another group open their door. "Hey, if it isn't Miles," one of them said. Phoenix saw Miles stiffen. He pulled earbuds from his pocket and stuck one in his ear. _"Wonder what's wrong with Edgeworth,"_ Phoenix thought. Edgeworth picked up the pace, Larry sighing. "Hey, Badd! Look, it's Miles's new boyfriend." The other man, Badd, laughed. Before Phoenix could do anything, Larry pulled him ahead.

"Did you hear that Larry?" "Yeah, man. It happens everyday." "Everyday?"

Edgeworth was stomping ahead, not hearing what Larry had to say. "Well, the dude that was picking on Edgey? The wolf looking guy?" "Yeah?" "Well, his name is Shi-Long Lang. Edgey is gay if you can't tell. Shi-Long Lang actually agreed to go with out with Edgey, but he humiliated him instead." "Wait, so let me get this straight. Pardon the pun. So Edgeworth asked Shi-Long out, for reasons I don't understand. Then when they went out, Shi-Long made fun of him, or something."

Larry glanced up at Edgeworth, making sure he wasn't listening. "Well, Edgey doesn't like me talking about this, but yeah. I need to tell you something before that though. Edgey didn't know he was gay until a year ago. He went out with Franziska, the girl who's dad killed his dad. That wasn't the problem though. Edgey told me he just didn't feel right with her." "Did he try other girls after that?" "Of course. There was this other girl, Lana Skye. Edgey told me he didn't feel right with her either. That's around when he found out he was gay. Back to Shi-Long. He wasn't always like that. I could see why Edgey liked him. Jock, you know? When Edgeworth asked him out, he actually agreed. Nobody thought Shi-Long was gay. Well, he's not."

"Then why did he agree?" "That's what I don't understand. He humiliated Edgey in front of their entire workout section. Edgey has major anxiety, even though he doesn't show it, so he was even more embarrassed than a normal person would be. Even asked for a switch time for workout. So now, Edgey doesn't like getting close to boys, even if it's just friends. Of course, he's close friends with me though, and he'll soften up to you."

"Man...one of your own teammates humiliating you." Phoenix had his blood boiling, learning more about Shi-Long. He wanted to avenge himself and Edgeworth.

"Edgey just tries to ignore Shi-Long now. He's just a fricken jerk. There's another guy on that team and he's not so bad. His names Gumshoe and he's dating Maggey, the other girl on Maya's team." "Oh, I see."

Edgeworth shoved the mess hall's door's open for Phoenix to hear a lot of talking and shouting. "Me and Edgey will introduce you to everybody when we're done eating, okay?" "Alright."

They got their trays and picked a few things off the counter. "Edgey, you got to eat more than an apple," Larry complained. "I'm never hungry. Feel lucky that I'm eating anything." "You are never hungry because your stomach shrank." "Stop acting like my mom." "Well, you don't have a mom, so."

Edgeworth smiled for the second time that day. "You got me th-" "Edgeworth!" A girl Phoenix didn't recognize jumped up from behind Edgeworth's chair, making them all jump. "Kay, I could have choked and died!" "Better than starving to death on a single apple."

Edgeworth sighed, wanting to get over the apple conversation. "Who's that," The mystery girl asked, looking at Phoenix. She had a high ponytail with a key-looking decoration inside the ponytail. "Oh, Kay, this is Phoenix Wright, the new recruit. Wright, this is Kay Faraday, my, um, sister pretty much."

Kay jumped and planted her hands on the table into a headstand. "Nice to meet ya," she said and stuck her hand out to Phoenix. "Oh, hello." Kay did a back flip off the table.

"Kay, give Wright his bracelet back." "Wh-What?!" Phoenix immediately looked at his wrist, not seeing his bracelet. "Hehe. Sorry, Phoenix. I specialize in thievery if you can't tell. Here." Kay tossed the bracelet with beads back at Phoenix. He put it back on his wrist, rubbing the beads out of habit. "Where'd ya get it?" Kay asked. "Oh, Mia gave it to me." "Woah, Mia Fey? That bracelet must have somethin' special then. She's a spirit medium after all." "Oh, yeah."

Edgeworth interrupted the two. "Hey, Kay. You have workout at two, right?" "Yeah. Why?" "Could you show Wright the moves and stuff?" "Oh, totally. See ya later, guys." "Bye Kay," the three said in unison. Kay did cartwheels back to her own table. Phoenix was surprised her scarf didn't fly off.

He stuck his spoon in the cereal bowl and started eating when Mia came walking over, two girls right behind her. "Hi, Phoenix." Before Phoenix could say hello back, Larry started talking to the first girl behind Mia. "Hey, Maya." "Oh, hi Larry!"

For once, Mia ignored Larry and sat down next to Phoenix. "I never knew his name. All I knew is that he was flirting with my sis." Phoenix smiled, still eating the cereal. "Oh. Mia, this is Miles, the other guy on the team. I call him Edgeworth though." "Nice to meet you Miles." "Likewise." Edgeworth continued to stare into space when Maya and Larry sat down, along with the other girl. _"Must be Maggey,"_ Phoenix thought.

"When do you get your first mission?" Mia asked Phoenix. "Oh, um, I'm not sure. Edgeworth, do you know?" "Yeah. Our next team mission is tomorrow. I mean, you went through training so you should be fine." "Oh, that's great," Phoenix mumbled sarcastically.

Everybody in the cafeteria heard a tap on a microphone. Phoenix looked towards the front where Chief Gant stood. "No new announcements today. Check the board for next weeks missions as usual. That's all." "Chief Gant isn't usually like this," Mia whispered to Phoenix. "Something's bothering him I think." Mia stood up and had a look around the mess hall. "B-4 isn't back from last night." "Who's on B-4?" Phoenix asked. "Bruce Goodman, Jake Marshell, and Neil Marshell." "Aren't they one of the top teams?" Maya asked her sister. "Well, yeah, but I'm sure their fine." Phoenix saw a Psyche-Lock appear around Mia. He knew the secret of his bracelet. It had once been a full magnetama, but it broke. It works just as fine if all the pieces are at least 8 inches of each other though. Phoenix decided to talk about it with Mia later.

Phoenix saw something hit the back of Miles's head, but he didn't even look up, still eating his apple. "What was that, Miles?" Mia asked Edgeworth. "Probably Shi-Long. Don't give him a damn."

Phoenix saw the note had rolled under the table. With Mia busy talking to Maggey and Larry talking to Maya, he picked it up and unfolded, regretting. Scribbles were all over the paper with kissy faces and the words 'NewbieXMiles.' " Shi-Long," Phoenix said out loud. Edgeworth immediately looked up. "Hey! I told you not to give a damn!" "You told that to Mia, not me. Now where is he. I'm gonna give him a piece of my mind." "Wright, no. You''l get in trouble." "Well it's better than you sitting here in misery. Oh, there he is."

Phoenix stood up from the table, Edgeworth trying to stop him. "Wright, please don't..." "No, I'm gonna teach him a lesson."

Phoenix walked over to the table. When he got halfway there, Shi-Long looked back with a smirk on his face. "Oh, so you are Miles's boyfriend! I w-" "Cut the crap Shi-Long." "Woah! We got a feisty one here, Badd!" Phoenix began ripping the paper. "I want you to quit, okay?" Larry came running over to Phoenix. "Nick, come on. Edgey doesn't want you over h-" "Oh, is this Miles's body guard?" "If I was in the same workout group as you, Shi-Long, I would blow you to smithereens."

Phoenix was shocked at Larry's quick change of attitude. "Oh? I'm at two o'clock. What are you newbie?" "I'm two. Don't worry, Larry. I'll do that job for you." "Better be bowing down to me my 2 o' 5, okay newbie?" "See you then, Shi-Long."

Phoenix and Larry walked back with their heads high. They saw Miles keep pulling his bang down, but it kept bouncing back up. _"Nerves tick,"_ Phoenix thought. "Oh man. Did Shi-Long threaten you, Wright? I should have made you stay over here." "Edgey, calm down. It's okay. Here, where's you pill case?" "Pill case?" Phoenix asked. Larry answered his question while digging through Edgeworth's vest pockets. "Edgey just needs to calm down his damn anxiety issues." _"Wow, it's like Edgeworth's a completely different person."_

"I always make him take it, so this doesn't happen, but he 'forgets'." "Larry, I told you to stop acting like my mom," Edgeworth said in between breaths. "Oh, here." Larry shoved the pill in Edgeworth's shaking hand and gave him the glass of water. "Better?" "Yeah." Edgeworth sat down, even more pale than after his shower. "I just need a smoke." "Here, if it will calm you down." Larry gave Edgeworth a pack of his cigarettes. "I'm going to the lobby." Edgeworth stood up and left.

"Hey, were are the girls?" Phoenix asked Larry as he sat down. "They said they already ate, so they left." "Oh, okay."

Phoenix then remembered the conversation with Shi-Long. "Crap, I'm gonna die."


	4. Chapter 3

"Man, why the hell did I do that?" Phoenix was partners with Ema Skye during Science, or at least that's what everybody called it, since it didn't have an official name and all they did was practice with chemicals for missions and etc.

"It's alright. At least you stood up for Mr. Edgeworth." "Mr.?" "Yeah I always called him that when he was dating my sister, so why should I change it?" "Oh, okay."

Luckily for Phoenix, Ema was skilled in the forensic field, so he let her do her thing while he explained his problem. Larry told him that Edgeworth was the chemical and technical one anyway.

"Now I'm gonna die my first day here because I ran my mouth. Edgeworth didn't want me to go over there and it gave him an anxiety attack, too." "You were just trying to stand up for your friend, isn't that what you're supposed to do?" "Well, yeah, but I could have handled it a different way and not ask for the death penalty."

Ema poured the pink looking liquid slowly into the tube. "Well, if I were you, hide behind Kay." "Why?" "Why? You're seriously asking? Mia can beat Shi-Long, but she's not in his class. Kay actually almost beat Mia in the whole assembly wrestling finals." "They seriously do wrestling matches?" "Not pro wrestling crap, like, actual wrestling like you did during training." "Oh thank God."

"Anyway, so I'm sure Kay could beat Shi-Long. She fights smart, then hard." "What do you mean?" "Kay looks like an ant compared to Shi-Long. However, she uses that to her advantage. When they're standing, she gets under his body and lifts with her knees, not back. When she has him on the ground, she can easily just wiggle out of bad positions, since she's so tiny. Plus, she clings like a monkey." "I can see that," Phoenix said, remembering her acrobatic performance at lunch.

Ema leaned towards the edge of the table and grabbed a yellow looking liquid. "So, long story short, have Kay fight for you." "No, I got myself into this and I'm gonna get myself out." Ema patted Phoenix's back. "Good for you."

They continued to work on the assignment until they were finished, way ahead of everybody else. "So, do you know if Edgeworth dated any other girls after your sister?" "I'm not sure. I heard that he might have asked Mia out, but Mia hasn't even talk to most boys after what happened with Godot." "Oh, yeah. Forgot about that."

"Well, if we're gonna talk about relationships, then I want to give that Larry guy a piece of my mind. I think he belongs with Franziska, not Maya, but that's just my opinion." "O-okay?"

"What about you, Mr. Wright. Have you dated?" "Well...I did have a girlfriend once, but she tried to kill me." "Wait, when was that?" "A year a-" "Holy crap, so Mia Fey rescued you, right?" _"How does everybody know this?"_ "Um, yeah." "So are you and Mia a thing?" "What?! No!" "Oh, okay. Everybody keeps wondering. You don't seem like the type for her either, just friend type." "Y-yeah."

"Have you dated after that?" "Um, well..." "Oooo, who?" Ema was in Phoenix's face now, her true teenage self showing. "How do I explain this? During training, I met this one guy, but he was booted out anyway." Ema was shocked to hear what Phoenix was saying, but let him continue. "We...got kind of close. Closer than friends. If you can call that dating, then yeah." "So, did you feel better with a boy then a girl?" "I just felt...more comfortable. Like I could be myself."

"Well, I don't know much about gay relationships, but I think you'll find somebody closer than you think." "I don't want to date anybody the first da-" "Guess who it is." Phoenix sighed. _"Didn't know we would get into it."_ "Who?" "I can't tell you. Guess first." Phoenix's eyes popped open when he realized who Ema was talking about. "Edgeworth," he whispered. "Yes! Ding ding!"

"Ema, I literally just met him today and he doesn't want to get clo-" "It's a love at first sight thing and you know it. Look how you're already standing up for him. I mean, nobody does that the first day they meet somebody. Plus I think he has a crush on you!" "No he doesn't!" "Of course he does! I mean, why else would he act all weird around you. Tsundere I tell you." "A what?" "Something from anime. If he says baka, then he for sure has a crush on you.

"Now back to business. If you can even survive a whole match against Shi-Long, then you'll gain everybody's respect, except for his, but you get my point. At training, did they show you how to deal with bigger guys?" "A little bit, but not much since I'm fairly built." "Okay. My advice for Shi-Long, don't go for the double leg. He beats everybody at wrestling. Maybe try a headlock uchi matta." "A what?" "It's a Judo throw. So you get the headlock and then you take your right leg and kick out their left leg." "You'll have to show me later." "Have Kay show you. I'm not in your class." "Damn. Okay."

Phoenix and Ema were allowed to leave early, so Phoenix took his time in the boys changing room for workout. A teen aged looking boy came in with a friend. "Hey, what's your name?" "Oh, my names Phoenix. Nice to meet you." The boy took Phoenix's hand. "My names Matt and this is Juan. He's great at music." "Nice to meet ya, Phoenix." The boys went to their lockers and a few more boys came in. Phoenix decided to go to the gym area after a while, not wanting to see Shi-Long in the changing room, or at all, really.

"Hey, Phoenix!" He turned around and found Kay bouncing up and down behind him. "Oh, hi Kay." "I heard from Ema that you got in a fight with Shi-Long and he wants to kill you now." "Not exactly but close eno-" Kay grabbed Phoenix in a headlock and tripped him, making her fall on top of him in a side control position. "What the hell?!" "That's the uchi matta." "Well, thanks," Phoenix said sarcastically.

Kay helped him off the ground. "I don't want Shi-Long walking in and seeing me showing you stuff, so that's all, okay?" "Okay, but I'm going to die." "You know submissions from there, right?" "Well yeah, bu-" "Okay, good. You'll do just fine then. I'll be your partner for the workout part. It's girls with boys anyway." "But I'm a completely different size that yo-" "So? I can beat the coach." "Oh okay. Not gonna argue."

More people started walking in, including Shi-Long, but Gumshoe was with him and not Badd. "Let me go ask the coach if I can be partners with you." "Okay, hurry back before Shi-Long kills me." "Will do." Kay ran over to the coach.

Phoenix began rubbing his head. _"I wonder what was in Edgeworth's notebook,"_ he thought. _"Diary? No. Story? No. Maybe song lyrics."_ Kay came back over, smiling. "He said I could partner with you!" "Cool. Um, Kay?" "Yeah?" "You're close with Edgeworth, right?" "Of course. He's like a big brother to me. Plus he called me his sis if you didn't hear that." "Do you know what he's writing in his notebooks?" "Oh yeah. His own song lyrics. He is obsessed with music. There's actually a music room I can show you later. It has a bunch of instruments. Edgeworth goes there when he's...more upset than usual." "Oh, alright. Thanks for everything, Kay." "Anytime Phoenix."

The coach blown into the whistle, signalling everybody to start the workout. Kay helped Phoenix along. "This isn't much different from training." "Yeah, except much easier." When they finished, everybody took a five minute break, then started the wrestling matches.

"Oh man. Shi-Long is going to kill me." "Don't have that attitude Phoenix. If you just last till the end, or even halfway through, you'll gain most people's respect." The coach tweeted the whistle, signaling that the match was over.

"Okaaayyy, Shi-Long! Who do you want to go against?" Shi-Long stepped onto the mat. "How about I give porcupine hair a nice welcome!" _"First newbie, now porcupine."_ "You got this porcupine," Kay whispered, smiling. "Remember, Uchi Matta." Phoenix nodded and put his feet on the mat. Nobody cheered for anybody, afraid of Shi-Long Langs wrath.

"You ready boys?" Both nodded. "Go!" Phoenix immediately got low and bent his knees, hearing that Lang went for the legs. "You scared, porcupine?" Phoenix got ticked off and went for the move. He got the headlock and threw Shi-Long over his hip. He didn't pay attention to the surprised shouts. "Go Phoenix!" Kay shouted.

 _"American Lock, American Lock,"_ Phoenix repeated in his head. Shi-Long was shocked when Phoenix threw him down, but recovered quickly. "Not today, pretty boy," he whispered. He put his forearm against Phoenix's neck making him choke. He then quickly got control of Phoenix's back. _"Crap, cover your neck!"_ Phoenix quickly bent his elbow and placed the palm of his hand against the back of his head. Phoenix then put his other arm across his neck so Shi-Long wouldn't choke him. However, Shi-Long pushed his knuckles against the edge of Phoenix's jaw, making him move his head up. Phoenix quickly turned around while Shi-Long was distracted with his own hand.

Shi-Long's legs were still around Phoenix, controlling him, but Phoenix was on top now, his domain. Phoenix shoved his boney elbow right into Shi-Long's knee, his legs instantly opening. Phoenix didn't waste anytime jumping back into side control, grabbing Shi-Longs arm. When he went for Phoenix's neck again, Phoenix changed the side control position.

He pulled Shi-Longs arm and got his leg under, the leg wrapping over the top of Lang's arm. Phoenix then pushed up with his hip and down with the leg around the arm. Being the stubborn boy he is, Shi-Long just screamed out in anger and pain, not tapping to note the submission. The coach stopped the match.

The voices that had drowned out to Phoenix during his adrenaline rush returned for him to see several people clapping. "Go Phoenix!" Kay yelled. Shi-Long growled, up on his elbows, Phoenix's back to him. He lunged for Phoenix and pulled his legs out from under him, Phoenix's face hitting the ground. Phoenix answered with a kick to Shi-Long's stomach.

Gumshoe pulled Shi-Long to the side while Kay grabbed Phoenix while the two were separated. The coach pulled Shi-Long over.

"Phoenix...that was amazing! I didn't think you would last a whole round with him, much less submit. Are you okay, though?" "What do you mean?" Phoenix sniffed, realizing that it wasn't his allergies. The pain entered his face around his right eye and entire nose. "Here, lets get you to the medical area."

Kay walked Phoenix down the hall, still praising him. "I don't know what came over me. When Shi-Long got my back...that's actually the last thing I remember." "You went into beast mode after that! But just before you totally armbared Lang, I think I saw your bracelet glow a little. Might just be me, though." _"Can the magnetama detect more than lies?"_ Phoenix asked himself. Despite the pain, he walked down the hallway, smiling with Kay.


	5. Chapter 4

"Nick! What the hell happened to you?" Larry had been walking to the gym for his workout, passing the medical area, seeing Phoenix in one of the windows. Phoenix had a black eye forming surprisingly fast under the ice pack and had to keep switching the tissues in his nose.

"I beat him." "Beat who?" "Shi-Long Lang, Larry," Kay interrupted. "WHAT?!" "Yeah man. I got the bloody nose because he was just a baby about it, but I don't know where the black eye came from." "Dude, you beat Shi-Long Lang, the biggest kid here, and only came out with a bloody nose and black eye?!" _"Only?!"_ Phoenix questioned in his head.

Kay interrupted his thoughts. "Larry, you should have seen Phoenix! He went total beast mode! Ask anybody in our class! And he didn't just last the time, he armbared Shi-Long!" "Dude, that's crazy, but, are you okay?" "Yeah, I'm fine." Phoenix smiled. "I showed Lang who's boss." "Your happy particles might be hiding the pain," Larry joked. "I got to tell Miles during workout, see ya." "Bye Larry." Larry closed the door, leaving Phoenix, Kay, and the nurse. She didn't really give them much attention, painting her fingernails on her desk.

"Phoenix, I can't tell you how many times how awesome that was." "Thanks Kay. Where did you have to be now?" "Oh, technology, but I'm at the front of the class, so screw it today." Phoenix smiled "Okay then." "What did you have?" "The simulator." "Oh, well kind of sucks for you, your first mission being tomorrow night." "Oh, great." "Don't worry about it. You'll do great." "Do you even know what the mission is?" "No, but you beat up Shi-Long. Miracles can happen." Phoenix shook his head.

"Oh, five minutes before dinner, do you want me to show you the music room?" "Oh yeah. Sure." Time past in the medical area, Phoenix asking Kay stupid questions.

"Okay, lets go. Your nose stopped bleeding, right?" "Yeah." Kay pulled Phoenix down the hallway, turning a few times. "Okay. Here we are." Phoenix made a mental note of where the room was. Kay opened the door for him to find instruments from guitars to a piano to banjos to violins laying about the room. "Thanks Kay. I'll check it out later." "Yeah. Let's go eat." They ran to the mess hall, laughing all the way.

When Phoenix opened the doors, it was automatically silent. Phoenix blushed and rubbed the back of his head, embarrassed by who-knows-what. Then, all of a sudden, all the kids started clapping. Phoenix blushed an even deeper red, smiling. He went to the lunch line and got a tray with Kay. "Wow, everybody already knows!" "I don't know how to take it," Phoenix said, a smile still on his face. "If people are clapping, they're proud of you." "Well, yeah, but what if Shi-Long is in here?" "Phoenix, you beat him, so don't be scared, but don't let it go to your head either. If you do, the Shi-Long would beat you easily, so always keep your guard up and to get ready for beast mode at anytime." "Well that's great. Try to help your friend and now your getting attacked over and over again."

Kay went to her own table, Phoenix seeing Mia. "Hey, where's Larry and Miles?" "I should be asking you the questions. First of all, did you really beat Shi-Long Lang? Second, are you okay? Finally, you could have been hurt way worse." "The last one isn't a question, but okay. First question, I don't know how, but I did. Second, yes, I'm fine." "That black eye and bloodstained nose isn't saying so. Oh, there they are."

Phoenix turned around and found Larry speed walking towards the table, Edgeworth right behind. "Wright! A-are you okay?!" "I'm fine, Edgeworth." "See, told you Edgey. Nick beat that Shi-Long to smithereens!" "I wouldn't say that, La-" "Oh, come on! Long story short, you beat him." "Wright, did you really?" "Well, the coach stopped the match because Shi-Long wasn't tapping." "Holy crap, you SUBMITTED HIM?!" "Yeah." "With what?!" "An armbar."

Edgeworth sat down with Larry. "Don't ever do that to me again, okay Wright?" "Do what?" "Defend me. I can talk to Shi-Long by myself." "Yeah, but can you beat him in one of the matches?" Larry asked. "Dude, just let Nick bathe in the glory a little bit." Edgeworth turned his earring. "But what if Shi-Long had hurt Wright?" Phoenix didn't know what to think of Miles's behavior. This morning he went from serious to anxiety attack and now he went from worrying to regret. "Wright, just...please don't do that to me again, okay?" Phoenix sighed. "Fine. If you don't want me to talk to Shi-Long, then I won't." "Thanks," Miles mumbled as he stabbed his fork into the noodles.

"Hey Mia, where's Maya?" Larry asked. "She's taking a shower. Said she wanted to get ready for the mission first, then eat. Maggey's eating with Gumshoe since who knows where Shi-Long is."

"Is B-4 back yet?" Phoenix interrupted. Mia stood up and looked around just like that morning. "No. Probably a longer mission than I thought." The Psyche-Lock appeared around her again. Phoenix whispered, "Mia." She looked at him, then the glowing bracelet. "I'll talk to you later," she whispered back.

They ate in silence until Larry broke it. "Do you think Shi-Long got cut? Like, off the organization cut?" "Would they really go that far for beating up a teammate?" Phoenix asked. Edgeworth answered first. "Gant would. He really cares about everybody, but if somebody hurts their teammate, he doesn't hold back, that's for sure. He once got rid of a whole team for almost killing one of the girls on a prank." "Well, to be fair, killing is serious business." "Still, he doesn't play around when it involves others safety."

Miles stared at his food for a long moment. "EDGEY!" Miles almost fell out of his chair due to Larry's shout. "What the hell man?!" Everybody at the table laughed, looking at Edgeworth's shocked face. "Eat your fricken food, man! You're just skin and bones now, pretty much. I can see your rib cage from here!" "Did you really have to shout in my ear for that? Anyway, I'm not hungry, and stop acting like my fricken mom!" "I have to act like your mom if it means you don't die of pain and starvation." "Whatever."

Edgeworth grabbed his tray and took Larry's pack of cigarettes out of his pocket. He started walking into the lobby when Larry finally noticed. "Hey, Edgey! Come back here!" Larry ran after Miles, leaving Phoenix and Mia alone. "I didn't want them worrying. Believe it or not, they look up to those guys." "B-4?" "Yeah. I just don't want them to go crazy, you know what I mean?" "I hear ya." Phoenix stabbed at his own food. "Did you ever see Edgeworth or Larry when Godot was on there team?" "I saw Miles, but we never got acquainted. That's why I introduced myself at breakfast."

Ema came skipping over with who Phoenix assumed was her sister. "Hey, Mr. Wright! I heard what happened!" "Oh, yeah." "Congrats! This is my sis, Lana." "Nice to meet you, Mr. Wright. First day and already making yourself known I see." "I didn't know it would spread like wild fire!" Lana gave a small smile. "Oh, Mia! I've been meaning to talk to you about Gant." "Yes, of course." Mia stood up. "I'll see you later, Phoenix." "Bye Mia. Nice to meet you, Lana." Lana shook Phoenix's hand and walked away, Ema still standing at the table. "I'm going to go finish eating. See you tomorrow, Mr. Wright!" "See ya, Ema."

Phoenix looked at his watch. Already 8:14. _"I'll go take a shower,"_ he told himself. _"Then I'll go have a look at that music room."_

Phoenix entered the black metal door to find Larry shoving his own stuff off the bed. "Um, hi Larry." Larry turned around. "Oh, hey Nick. Stay right there, okay?" "O-okay?" Phoenix stood still while Larry kept digging through the messy bunk bed. "Here it is!" Larry jumped down and handed Phoenix an ear microphone with speaker attached to the end. "For the mission tomorrow! Your going to be using it a lot, so don't loose it." "Oh thanks Larry." Phoenix set it on his own bed.

"I'm gonna take a shower." "You take your shower at night?" "Yeah, why?" "I don't know. Just seems weird." Phoenix took a quick shower, just like the night before. He walked out and didn't see Larry or Edgeworth. _"I'll go to the music room, I guess."_

Phoenix slipped a pair of pants on and usual white t-shirt. He walked down the hallway and finally got to the mentally noted music room. He slowly opened the door, not seeing Edgeworth. _"Wonder where he is?"_

Phoenix wandered around the room, looking at all the instruments. _"I'm surprised that they even allow instruments here. Well, I guess with Gant as head director, he doesn't want anybody bored. Ever."_

Phoenix heard the door creak and jumped behind the piano, nerves of who he would find. He peeked through the bottom to see Edgeworth sigh with notebook in hand. _"Wonder where he was..."_ Edgeworth grabbed a guitar and hit a few notes. "Okay," he whispered to himself.

Phoenix recognized the beat from a song on the radio a while ago, but it sounded slightly slower. Then, to Phoenix's surprise, Edgeworth started singing. "I'm gonna make you bend and break, it sent you to me without wings, say a prayer but let the good times roll!" Edgeworth continued to sing with Phoenix still hiding. His voice sounded handsome, but teenage-ish at the same time, making it even better. When he was finally done with that song, he switched to another, this one by Green Day.

 _"Must be one of the posters on his bed."_ "I walk a lonely road, the only one that I have ever known. Don't know where it goes, but it's home to me and I walk alone." _"Man, dark."_

Edgeworth finished that one and strummed a few notes on the guitar once again, starting a new song. Phoenix didn't recognize it unto Edgeworth hit the chorus. "So take a look at me now. Well there's just an empty space. And there's nothing left here to remind me, just the memory of your face." _"Phil Collins?! Wouldn't imagine Edgeworth listening to tha-"_

The sound of the wooden door opening hindered Phoenix's thoughts. "B-Badd?! What are you doing here?" Edgeworth asked, startled. Phoenix resisted every urge to jump at Badd, staying hidden. "You've got an interesting friend, you know that?" "I would prefer the term 'teammate' for now." _"Teammate?! For now?!"_

"Well, whatever the hell you want to call him, he got Shi-Long booted out." "As in left?" "As in, forced to leave, yeah." Badd pulled something out of his pocket and stuck it in his mouth. At first, Phoenix thought it was a cigarette, only able to see the part sticking out of Badd's mouth. He then realized that it was a candy sucker.

"Want one?" "No thanks." "Your body is saying something else," Badd said, nodding towards Edgeworth's visible rib cage. "Why do you care?" "Just trying to be friendly. Now that Shi-Long's gone I realize that I was kind of being controlled by him. So, want to start fresh with ya." Edgeworth glared at Badd. "Look, you probably don't want anything to deal with me and I don't want anything to deal with you. So I'll spare you the pain." "If you say so." Badd left the room and closed the wooden door.

As soon as he did, Edgeworth started to break down, his eyes getting teary. "D-Dammit, why now? Why the hell now?!"

Phoenix wanted to jump up and help his friend, but stayed in his position, wanting to see what he would do. Miles bit his hand, trying his best not to let the tears fall. "He's gone. He's gone and you're not gonna get him back, so stop it."

Edgeworth immediately flipped open his notebook, tears falling so fast that they landed on a few of the flipping pages. He pulled the ink stained cap of the pen off with his mouth and started writing furiously. He then pulled one of the music stands over and set his notebook on it. He sat in the chair with guitar in hand and hit what Phoenix figured were the first notes of Edgeworth's own song.

"Being without you is like being without the sun, no light to warm me." Edgeworth continued the song until the bridge. _"Did he not write this part?"_ Phoenix decided to come out from hiding, slowly standing.

Edgeworth turned around with a pained looking face. "How long have you been in here?!" "Um, before you came in." Edgeworth cussed under his breath.

"Who were you...crying about?" "I wasn't crying." "Bull crap. I saw you and why else would you bite your hand?" "Whatever. I was just...thinking of my dad. That's all."

Phoenix patted Edgeworth's back. "Are you alright?" "Yeah, I'm fine." A few Psyche-Locks appeared around Edgeworth, but the problem wasn't how many of them there was, but the color. "B-black?!" Edgeworth looked at Phoenix's shocked expression. "I wear black everyday, what's the big deal?" he asked, trying to change the subject. "No, your Psyche-Locks." "What the hell are Psyche-Locks?!"

Phoenix looked at his bracelet, which was glowing a darker green than usual. "Why is your bracelet glowing?" Edgeworth asked nervously. "Oh, this can detect lies, and I'm guessing you want to keep that lie a secret, because you've sealed it away, deep in your heart." _"That sounds weird, but if it will make him feel better..."_

Only one of the four black Psyche-Locks broke. "You're gonna have to try harder than that, Wright." Edgeworth sniffed, rubbing his arm against his nose. "Well, I obviously can tell you're lying. Let me just tell you now. You are not okay."

Edgeworth stood up, grabbing his notebook. "I'm okay Wright. Really." He walked past Phoenix and paused, hand on the doorknob. "Thanks for getting Shi-Long out." Edgeworth fully opened the door and stepped out, leaving Phoenix in the quiet music room.


	6. Chapter 5

*This is my first time writing a gay love scene, so...just know I tried really hard XD*

"What?! Cancelled?!" "Yeah, man. They cancelled all the missions for tonight." Phoenix was shocked, hearing the news. He was already getting ready for his mission that night when Larry came in and broke the news to him. "Why?" "I don't know. Maybe Mia knows. I'll go ask her. Want to come with?" "Sure."

They walked down the hall and turned a corner. Phoenix was the one to knock on the door. "Yes? Oh, Phoenix! What are you doing here?" "Um, do you know why the missions are cancelled? I mean, the missions are kind of important. That's what keeps the organization running." "Oh, I'm not sure. Maybe it is because of B-4." Mia bit her tongue, realizing that Larry was standing right there as soon as the words left her mouth.

"What?! I thought you said they were okay!" Maya came running up behind her sister. "What's all the ruckus? Oh, hey Larry!" For once, Larry didn't pay attention to Maya, but her sister. "Larry, I didn't want to worry yo-" "You could have at least told us!"

"There you guys are!" Phoenix jumped at the sound of Edgeworth's voice. "Edgey, are missions cancelled because of B-4?" "What?! B-4's still gone?!" Mia sighed, all the commotion going on at once. Phoenix tried to handle the situation. "Look, let's all calm dow-" "No! Mia told me B-4 was fine and they're not!" Phoenix was ticked off at Larry's attitude.

 _"Why does he care so much about one team?"_ "Larry, what's the big deal? I'm sure th-" "The big deal is that my cousin is on that team!" Phoenix was shocked at Larry's words. "And this bitch lie-" Edgeworth slapped Larry across the face. "Don't you ever call Mia that again!" Phoenix stood still, breaking into a cold sweat. _"What the hell did Edgeworth just do?!"_ "Larry! I know your cousin is on that team, but don't you ever call Mia that again! I don't care what is going on between you two, you don't ever do that." Larry glared at Edgeworth. "Sorry Mia," he mumbled. Mia smiled. "It's okay Larry. I know you didn't mean it. Just remember. Don't do it again." "Alright." _"What the heck just happened? Larry acted like Edgeworth's mom yesterday, now he's being scolded by him."_

Edgeworth smiled at Phoenix. "Why are you upset? Cat got your tongue?" Phoenix got out of his startled position. "I-I'm fine." Maya laughed behind Mia. "Hey, can they come in? Maybe we can have a party tonight, since there's no missions!" "Well it's up to them." Mia turned towards the boys. "Do you want to party in here?" Larry was the first to say yes, Phoenix and Edgeworth repeating.

Mia let them in. "Hey, where's Maggey?" Phoenix asked. "Well, since you creamed Shi-Long, she's hanging out with Gumshoe in their room."

The boys all sat on the floor, cross-legged while Maya was hopping around, grabbing things party worthy. "Let's play spin the bottle!" "You sure that's smart Maya?" Mia asked, nervous. "Oh come on! It's not like it's serious anyway!"

Maya grabbed an almost empty water bottle and drank the remaining droplets. "Okay here we go. Larry! You spin first!" Larry gave a smile, rubbed his hands together, and spun the bottle. Phoenix leaned back against the edge of the bed while it continued to spin. Larry almost jumped up with excitement when it was slowing down at Maya. Unfortunately, it continued to Mia. "Make up kiss!" Maya shouted. "Alright, come here Larry!" Larry leaned over on the ground and allowed Mia to give him a quick kiss on the cheek.

Everybody clapped, including Edgeworth. "Okay, my turn!" Maya spun the bottle like a crazy woman, spinning for what seemed like forever. It finally landed on Phoenix, his face turning red. "Come here!" Phoenix leaned in, nervous of what Larry would do to him later. Maya got onto her feet and gave Phoenix a kiss on the forehead. "Nick, your turn now!" Phoenix was surprised to hear the voice come from Maya, not Larry. He ignored it as he spun the bottle.

 _"Please be one of the girls,"_ he thought to himself. Even though he was gay, he didn't know what the others would think if they saw him more comfortable kissing Larry or Edgeworth. Even the bottle started slowing down at Maya, it continued and finally stopped at Edgeworth.

 _"Frick! What if what Ema said is true?! I don't even know h-"_ Phoenix had his thoughts interrupted from Edgeworth giving him a full kiss on the lips. Nobody else seemed to be in the room now, just Phoenix and Edgeworth. Phoenix relaxed and gave the kiss back, not giving a care in the world if others saw. He then knew that Edgeworth was the one for him, no matter what. He held the kiss until Edgeworth gently pulled back. The room was quiet, everybody staring at the two. The two boys faces turned a deep deep red really quickly. They were still looking deep into each other's eyes. Phoenix was the first to smile, Edgeworth following. "I didn't know you were such a good kisser, Edgeworth, or else I would have done something sooner." Edgeworth gave his smirk back. "I didn't know you were a good one too, Wright."

"Um, sorry to interrupt, but what the hell was that?!" The two boys, now lovers as it seemed, looked at Larry's dumbfounded face. Edgeworth and Phoenix laughed, not really caring that everybody saw. "Too bad Shi-Long wasn't here to see it," Phoenix joked. Everybody laughed, directing the attention off of the crazy kiss. "Mia, it's your turn!"

The night continued full of kisses and giggles. Edgeworth's spins landed on Larry once, but landed on Mia or Phoenix for most of the time. Edgeworth, Phoenix, and Larry walked back to their own room after Mia smacked Larry for trying a kiss on Maya's lips.

As soon as Larry closed the door, he started going psycho. Not for B-4, he had his mind off that, but for Phoenix and Edgeworth's "stunt". "What the fricken hell was that?! Are you two drunk!?" Phoenix laughed, Edgeworth smiling. "No, just...normal." "Dude, that's not normal what-so-ever. Edgey, that is just so unlike you! I'm convinced you're drunk." "Well, I'm not Larry, so deal with it. We didn't even drink alcohol."

"Nick, I thought you said you had a girlfriend!" "Yeah, the one that tried to kill me! I realized that I was gay during training." "You can't just date one girl and say your ga-" "On the contrary, most people don't even date the opposite sex and realize they're gay," Edgeworth interrupted, taking Phoenix's side, both physically and in the argument.

"Larry, I don't see what the problem is," Phoenix said, trying to calm him down. "You seriously don't see the problem?! One of the many problems?!" "Fine, Larry. Name one problem." "Well, one of the many I can name is what everybody is going to think of us! I mean, Maya probably thinks I'm gay now, so that ruins my chances with her!" Phoenix and Edgeworth stopped smiling. Edgeworth spoke first. "That's seriously what you are upset about?! Larry! Who cares what others think of you!" "Oh yeah, says the boy with anxiety issues about his dead daddy."

Edgeworth was taken back, surprised that Larry even touched that subject. "Don't you ever bring my dad up again!" "Why not? Like you said, and I quote, I don't see what the problem is. It's fact and you know it." Edgeworth growled. "Back to the subject," he said through clenched teeth. Phoenix couldn't tell if they were closed because he was trying not to cry or just plain old angry. He let Edgeworth continue anyway, not wanting to have Larry yell at him, since Edgeworth knew Larry for longer.

"Look, there're a bunch of other people who make themselves more known and embarrass themselves everyday if you're concerned about popularity or whatever." "No, it's not that!" "Then what the hell is it, Larry?!" "You won't understand." "I won't understand?! You haven't even been understanding the situation." "Fine! I'll tell you then!" Phoenix cringed at Larry's volume-rising voice.

"You just kissed a boy, who you just met yesterday I might add, while it took you forever to ask everybody else out! It pisses me off! That 'love' is not real! Deal with it!" Phoenix saw Edgeworth's blood rising.

"That's seriously what you are ticked off about?! That I found somebody that I like?! That I found somebody, even though I'm younger, and your still looking? Don't tell me it's true Larry, or else I will be pissed off." "Well, guess what, pretty boy, it is! You can't just find somebody and date them the next day!" "What the hell would you know?! All you have your eyes on is Maya and she doesn't even like you back!"

Edgeworth and Larry continued to argue. Phoenix was lost in thought, looking at his bracelet, glowing a dark green. He looked up at Larry. Not 4, but 10 black Psyche-Locks around him. _"What the hell is he hiding?"_

"And you can just get the hell out of here with your new boyfriend, because I don't give a damn anymore! Just get the #*& out of my face, you disgusting bastard!"

Phoenix was brought back to reality from Larry's last argument. Edgeworth paused and stared at his friend. Larry realized what he just said, his face softening. "E-Edgey, I'm so-" Edgeworth shoved past Larry, running out the door. Larry cursed under his breath.

"Larry, I know you're hiding something, but I'll talk to you about it later." Phoenix walked out the door before Larry could ask him what it was. Phoenix walked down the hallway, figuring Edgeworth ran to the music room. He wanted to run after him, but Edgeworth might go somewhere different if Phoenix followed him.

As he turned another corner, he ran into Kay. "Oh, sorry Phoenix! Are you alright?" "Yeah, I'm fine. I'll have to talk to you later, Kay." "Oh, alright. What's the problem?" "I'll tell you tomorrow," Phoenix said back, walking down the hall once more.

He flew the door open to the music room to see Edgeworth biting his lip, unsuccessful in stopping the tears. He was holding his right arm behind his back, which Phoenix found strange. Then, Phoenix saw blood drip from behind Edgeworth through the opening of his spread apart legs.

"E-Edgeworth!" Phoenix ran up to him and pulled his hands in front of his body. Edgeworth's left hand was holding a bloody knife while the right was just covered in blood. "What did you do?! Here, give me the knife."

Edgeworth kept still as Phoenix pulled the knife from his hand. Phoenix took off his vest and started cutting his shirt into pieces when Kay came running in.

"Edgeworth! What happened?" When Kay saw Edgeworth's pained face and Phoenix cutting his shirt into strips, she understood. "Don't tell me you hurt yourself again!" "Again?!" Phoenix questioned. "He cut his leg when his dad...you know."

It seemed like Edgeworth was in another world, eyes sealed shut, tears coming out through the cracks, breathing heavy like his anxiety attack just yesterday. Phoenix began wrapping the torn strips around Edgeworth's hand. "Here, let's get him to the medical ar-" "No..."

Phoenix looked at Edgeworth as he whispered the word. "I-I-I-I'm f-f-f-f-f-f-f-" "Edgeworth, your not fine," Kay said, answering Edgeworth's unfinished sentence. "Please...please no."

Phoenix was shocked. "Edgeworth, you'll be fine if you just let us help you." "No...please no. No-not that aga-again." _"What again?"_

"Edgeworth, it's for your own good!" Kay was aggravated at Edgeworth for not cooperating. "Edgeworth...please..." Edgeworth looked at Phoenix, pleading. "O-o-okay." Phoenix finished wrapping the strips and put his vest back on, but didn't have a shirt to cover his fine toned stomach muscles. He took another look at Edgeworth, shaking.

"Here, get on my back." Edgeworth didn't argue, wrapping his left arm around Phoenix's neck. He let Phoenix grab his legs, piggy back style, and walk out the door, Kay behind them. "Oh, crap..."

Phoenix saw Shi-Long around the corner, his bag in hand, indicating that he was indeed leaving the organization for good. He looked up at Phoenix carrying Edgeworth, showing his evil fanged smile. "Well, well, well. So you two are dating now! How sweet!"

Phoenix just glared at Shi-Long, even though it was kind of the truth. Phoenix walked a little faster, boots hitting the concrete floor. Edgeworth looked away from Shi-Long, embarrassed from the hand and tears. Kay followed Phoenix, picking up the pace.

"What's the matter, porcupine? You mute from the black eye?" Phoenix felt Edgeworth breathing heavy again. "It's okay," he whispered.

Phoenix finally got to the medical area, successfully getting away from Shi-Long without a fight. The nurse came in and immediately started taking care of Edgeworth, Phoenix and Kay standing back.

"What did Edgeworth mean by 'again'," Phoenix asked Kay. "Oh, therapy." "For hurting himself?" "Yeah. He said it's just a waste of time and it didn't help. It had helped until today." Phoenix nodded.

"Why all of a sudden did he do it?" Phoenix shook his head, as dumbfounded as Kay. He explained what happened in the girls' room and Larry's outburst when they came back.

"What did Larry say right before Edgeworth walked out?" "Well, for a little of the argument I was distracted, but at the end, Larry lost it. He told Edgeworth to get out of his *(%#^% face and he also called him a disgusting bastard." Kay was shocked, hearing the words said.

"Edgeworth is sensitive to name calling. What were you distracted with?" "Oh, my bracelet." "Was it glowing again?" "Yeah, but for a different reason than wrestling."

Phoenix explained the magnetama to Kay and his discovery of black Psyche-Locks. "I think the black ones would be harder ones to break than regular ones." "Yeah, they just give out a cold vibe, like they would die protecting that secret."

When the nurse was done patching up Edgeworth's hand, she talked to him a little bit, arranging a time for the therapy.

"Is everything alright?" Phoenix asked the nurse. She nodded, not saying a word. Edgeworth still looked uneasy, so Phoenix carried him back to the room. "See you in the morning, Kay." "See ya guys!"

Phoenix pushed the familiar metal door open to see Larry, pacing around the room. He looked up at the sound of the door closing. "Edgey, I'm so..." Larry stopped in mid-sentence, seeing Edgeworth's bandages. "Shit...man I'm so sorry. I really didn't mean it, you have to believe me. Please, man...forgive me." Edgeworth was silent. "We can talk tomorrow. Put me down, Phoenix." Phoenix set Edgeworth on the floor. He pulled off the t-shirt and pants, only in his boxers as he climbed up the bed and faced the wall, going to sleep after the fast-paced night. "Nick-" "We can talk tomorrow, Larry." Phoenix pulled off his vest and pants, hopping in bed too. Larry sighed and turned off the light, going to sleep himself.


	7. Chapter 6

Phoenix woke up to see the light coming through the bottom of the bathroom door. He heard Larry snoring slightly as he got out of bed to put his clothes on. Being short of his white t-shirt, he began looking for one the many black ones given to him by Gant. _"What did he say about them? Could never have to many? Something like that."_

Phoenix looked at the clock. 5:56. "Woah, I never get up this early," he whispered to himself, looking through his bag for clothes. He found the pants, but had to dig deeper for the shirt. Edgeworth came out of the bathroom, drying his hair, shirtless. Phoenix noticed the cross tattoo around Edgeworth's heart. _"Surprised I didn't notice it yesturday."_

"Hey, twinsies," Phoenix whispered, not wanting to wake up Larry. "I hate that word with all my life," Edgeworth mumbled back. "Come on man! Don't be so gothy today!" "Do these earrings say anything?" Edgeworth asked as he stuck one in.

Phoenix noticed that Edgeworth's hair was growing a little bit, enough for a really small ponytail. Edgeworth pulled on a tank top with a faded rock band name on it. "Green Day?" Phoenix asked. "Yeah."

"Hey, can I do something with your hair?" Phoenix turned a deep red immediately regretting asking. "Sure, don't mess with the bangs, though." Phoenix grabbed a thin rubber band from his bag and walked over to Edgeworth. He pulled the hair back and tied it as tight as he could so it wouldn't fall out. "What the heck?" Edgeworth felt the back of his head. "Oh, come on. I like it." Edgeworth smiled. "It's okay I guess. It has been bothering me."

Larry rolled over and jumped off the bunk. "Can we talk after I take a shower?" He asked Edgeworth with pleading eyes. "Sure," he said, a hint of aggravation in his voice. Larry closed the door, sounding like he was rushing. Phoenix went back to his bag and finally pulled out a t-shirt. He grabbed his vest and threw it on as well.

Phoenix looked at Edgeworth's hand, the bandages gone. "Do you want me to wrap your hands?" Edgeworth looked away, face turning a pink/red. "Sure." Phoenix grabbed the roll of bandages the nurse gave him and got to work. He caressed Edgeworth's hand in his and wrapped the bandages around with the other hand. He didn't want to wrap too many layers, so he wrapped only 3 layers around the palm. Phoenix sighed. "Don't do that to me again, okay? I don't ever want to see you in pain." "I know, Wright, I know. I'm sorry. Speaking of, I don't want to see you in pain either." Edgeworth rubbed Phoenix's hand with his thumb.

Larry came bursting out of the bathroom, only underwear on, interrupting the moment. "Edgey, I'm so sorry man," he said, throwing his pants on. "I didn't mean those words, I promise. I was just mad that...that..." Larry put his t-shirt on. "That what, Larry?" "That...never mind."

Phoenix saw the Psyche-Locks appear around Larry again. "Larry, what is it? Wright, are the Psyche-locks around him?" Phoenix remembered telling Edgeworth about the Psyche-Locks his first day. "Yeah. It's bad. 10 black ones." Larry looked at Phoenix and Edgeworth suspiciously. "What the hell are Psyche-Locks?" "No need for you to know. We just need to break them if you want me to forgive you." Larry sighed. "Guess you guys aren't joking by the look of Nick's bracelet."

The Psyche-Locks began to break, stopping at five. "But...but it's just so stupid..." The Psyche-Locks began breaking again, one left. The one around his heart. "Will you really forgive me, Edgey?" "Of course. I just want to know why you are upset about last night." The last Psyche-Lock broke into what seemed like a million shards.

"I...I just...We have known each other for so long, Edgey. You're the closest person I got. But...but then Nick came around and I could tell you were acting different. I don't want to be alone, Edgey. I don't want you to leave with somebody you just met." Phoenix felt bad for Larry, even though he was bad mouthing him. He didn't mean to take away the only person Larry could be himself around. "Larry...I'm sorry. I didn't know you felt that way." "It's alright man. You can still date Nick, but just...try to understand how I feel, alright? You forgive me?" "Yeah. I forgive you." "Cool."

Larry walked back to the bathroom to fix his hair. "Is there going to be training tomorrow? Since it's Sunday?" "Usually there's not, and I doubt we are going on our mission tomorrow too. I usually just hang out with Kay and Larry." "Alright." They continued to talk while Larry kept fixing his hair. Once he was done, they went to the mess hall, one of the first teams arriving.

"Wow, Edgeworth, you're here early." Kay cartwheeled towards the three, also adding a back flip or two. "Hey, Kay. Do you know what they are going to do about the simulator? They won't have the electric cards for the missions." Kay thought for a moment. "Not sure. Maybe it'll be just free time." "Hopefully." Phoenix remembered the simulator yesterday. It was intense, so he hoped they didn't have it today.

Kay got her breakfast with the boys, since her team wasn't even up yet. "Edgey, get more than that!" Edgeworth didn't even grab a tray, knowing he wouldn't eat much. He peeled the single orange he got and started eating. "Told you yesterday and the day before, and pretty much everyday. Not hungry."

They all sat down, Kay sitting next to Larry and Phoenix next to Edgeworth. Kay smiled, glad that Edgeworth and Phoenix were getting at least a little more serious than a game of spin the bottle.

"Do you feel better, Edgeworth?" Kay asked. "I'm fine. I've had worse." Phoenix looked at Larry, hoping for an answer. "One of the missions, he got hit in the head pretty hard." "Oh." _"Is that why he didn't want me messing with the bangs? There can't be a scar on his forehead, the bangs obviously show that. Maybe around the hairline."_

Phoenix spun the spoon in the cereal bowl, thinking about last night. _"Wonder if Shi-Long got his ass out of here yet."_ Larry stood up to go smoke in the lobby, Edgeworth following.

Kay scooted over to come face to face with Phoenix. "Have you and Edgeworth talked yet? About the thing?" "Depends which thing you're talking about." "Well, everything last night, really."

"Well, Larry apologized to Edgeworth." "Did you break his Psyche-Locks?" "Yeah." Kay leaned closer to Phoenix. "What was he upset about?" she whispered, afraid that Larry was going to come back at any minute. "Well, he was saying how he was close with Edgeworth and that he was one of the only people he could call a friend or whatever. I guess he was upset because Edgeworth was kind of drifting away from him because of me." Phoenix felt guilty and stared at the bracelet. "Phoenix, don't blame yourself. I don't know how I would take that. Sounds like Larry's jealous of you." "I'd rather not think of it like that."

"Did you talk about anything else?" Phoenix nodded. "I told him not to do that again, but I'm not sure if he knew how much I was pleading." Kay leaned back into her chair. "I don't think he'll do it again. I mean, when he cut his leg he was regretting it for days. I'm sure you asking him just makes him not want to do it more."

Kay's face lit up. "Did you two sleep together?" "Oh my gosh Kay, no! Where did you get that idea?!" "I don't know. You guys are a couple now, so just figured." "Seeing the cross tattoo on Edgeworth's chest, I'm guessing he's Christian and wouldn't sleep with somebody unless he married them." Kay smiled even bigger. "Guessing you're Christian too if you knew that. But tell me, just how did you see his chest?" Phoenix sighed, getting annoyed with Kay. "He was getting out of the shower." "Then what's up with the ponytail?" Phoenix did a face-palm, forgetting all about the hair and hand rubbing. "Okay, I don't see how that relates to sleeping together, but I did do his hair and bandages."

Kay gave a bigger grin than seemed possible. "So you did his bandages too? Did you hold hands for a while?" Phoenix blushed. "He kind of rubbed his thumb and it felt...relaxing." Kay squealed. "I'm glad you found someone for you, especially since it's Edgeworth."

Kay leaned in once again and whispered to Phoenix. "Edgeworth didn't want to be gay. He didn't know what his religion would think of him." Phoenix smiled. "Well, I'm in his religion, so he doesn't have to worry." Phoenix looked up and saw Larry and Edgeworth walking back. People were starting to gather in the mess hall, so they all sat and talked until Gant came up to the podium where the microphone stood. Kay went to sit with her team when they came and Mia and Maya sat with the boys.

"I apologize for the last minute cancellation of missions last night. Missions will resume on Monday, so you guys better get your rest!" Gant left the stand, Phoenix relived that he was back to his normal self.

"So is B-4 back?" Mia stood up, as usual, looking for them. "Oh yeah! There are the Marshells!" Larry gave Mia a glance. "What about Goodman?" "Um, I don't see him. Maybe he's just in the room. He's probably tired, being on a mission for two days." Larry didn't buy it. He stood up, mumbling something about the restroom.

"Here. I'll come with," Phoenix volunteered. Larry pushed open the doors. "Medical Area?" he asked. Larry nodded, doing a speed walk. Larry opened the doors, gasping. Phoenix peeked over his shoulder to see a man with an eye-patch and stitches across his chest. "GOODMAN!" Larry yelled, not making the effort to keep his voice down. _"That's his cousin I guess."_ The nurse, with clipboard in hand, gave Phoenix a glare. "I'm going to be seeing you a lot, aren't I?" "Um, yeah." Phoenix didn't want to interrupt crazy Larry, so he left and went to the Science room to tell Ema about last night. _"She's going to enjoy this."_


	8. Chapter 7

"Oh. My. Gosh. THAT IS FREAKING AMAZING!" Ema was bouncing up and down in her seat when Phoenix told her about spin the bottle. "Ssshh. Keep it down. I only told you because I thought you wouldn't tell anybody else." "I'm sorry, it's just too kawaii!" _"I don't think grown men kissing is kawaii, whatever the hell that means..."_ "So did you do anything besides that, like cuddle?" "Cuddle?" "Yeah." "Um, no. No cuddling." "Did you do anything?" Phoenix didn't want to mention the other half of that night, so he pushed the bandages to the back of his mind. "Well..." "Well, what?" "His hair was getting long, so I put it in a ponytail for him." Ema stared into space. "Woah...THAT"S SO CUTE!" Phoenix glared at her, not understanding what was cute about grown up gay guys fixing each other's hair. "Ema, quit." "No! I can't control it!" Phoenix sighed. They were already done with the project, so he couldn't tell her to focus on that. "Oh! Do you know what your mission will be? Or when your next mission even is?" Ema quit fan-girling and thought for a moment. "I think mine's Tuesday." "Oh, mine's Monday." "Is it the one that got cancelled?" "Yeah." "Did you keep the key card for the simulator?" "I think so..." Phoenix started digging in his vest pockets. "Oh, here it is." When he pulled the key card out, his hand nudged against the bandages, making a few strips fall onto the floor. "Why do you have bandages?" Ema asked. _"Frick!"_ "Oh, um, I, uh..." "Your not good at lying are you?" Ema got down from her stool and grabbed the bandages. "Did Mr. Edgeworth...you know..." Phoenix was shocked at how upset Ema was and that she actually guessed what happened. Phoenix looked away and nodded. "Was it because of Larry?" Phoenix's eyes became huge, scared that Ema entered his mind or something. He nodded again. "Ugh...is he alright? Was it bad?" "Not too bad, but still enough for it to be somewhat serious." "How? Why?" Phoenix explained to her what Larry had said to Edgeworth and added the Psyche-Locks from this morning. "So, Psyche-Locks mean that you're hiding something and black ones pretty much mean that they're harder to break?" "Well, I don't know. The other night in the music room, I only broke one of Edgeworth's Psyche-Locks, but then this morning when Edgeworth promised Larry he would forgive him, they broke like glass." "Maybe they will only break for one thing and the more black ones, the more they want that thing." "Maybe." Ema began rubbing her lab coat. "I can't believe Mr. Edgeworth did that. Is he doing therapy again?" "I think so. I'm not sure what time though." Phoenix drew his attention to one of the test tubes. "I just feel like it's my fault." "Now how in the world is it your fault?" Ema asked, putting her hand on Phoenix's shoulder. "I don't know. If I would have ran after him...or grabbed him when he ran out...or controlled Larr-" "Phoenix, stop. It's not your fault." "But-" "No buts. It's not your fault. How should you know that Mr. Edgeworth was sensitive to name calling. How should you have known he was upset with other things when Larry was yelling at him?" "Well, I should have at least known he was upset about his dad when Larry brought it u-" "Larry brought up Mr. Edgeworth's dad?!" "Yeah." "He must have been super mad, because everybody knows how Mr. Edgeworth and his dad were." "What happened that made his dad die anyway? Like, I know that the von Karma shot him, but what made him shoot?" "I honestly don't know. I've never asked Mr. Edgeworth because I don't want him getting upset. Maybe you could ask Franziska." "His daughter?" "Yeah. She's in our simulator group today I think. I could ask her if you don't want to." "No, I'll ask her. Silvery blue hair, right?" "Yeah." Phoenix was allowed to leave early again with Ema. He did Gym again, everybody wanting to wrestle him. "Woah, Phoenix, your popular," Kay said in a handstand. "No, I think they want to make sure I just wasn't lucky against Shi-Long." Matt Engarde, the boy Phoenix met in the locker room, chose to go against him. "Watch out for this guy," Kay whispered. "He seems a little crazy." Almost as if Matt had heard Kay, he slicked his finger's through his long bangs, revealing scars that could have been from his fingernails or a cat. Phoenix couldn't tell. "Do they allow animals here?" he whispered to Kay. She giggled. _"No, I'm serious."_ "Go like you did with Shi-Long, still throw him." "Alright." Phoenix fought a little lighter than yesterday, but somehow beat Matt faster than Shi-Long with the same armbar. Phoenix stuck out his hand to help Matt up. He smiled, but somewhat evil. "Looks like you weren't just lucky. Good game man." "Um, you too." Phoenix watched everybody else wrestle, including Kay beat up a boy at least 50 pounds heavier than her. "See you at dinner Kay." "See ya Phoenix. Oh!" Kay grabbed Phoenix's arm just as he was going to the changing room. "Can you...go to the music room with Edgeworth tonight? I know he'll go there. I just want you to make sure he's okay." Phoenix nodded. "I was planning on it anyway." Phoenix walked to the simulator room finding Ema was the only one there so far. "You're here early," Phoenix said, a small smile on his face. "You too. They told me when somebody in our group showed up, we could start. Do you want to start first?" Phoenix saw that only one other group had started. "Sure." Ema fixed the goggles around Phoenix's head and moved him into their group's simulator room. She stuck the electronic card into the small slot in the back of the goggles. "Alright, you're all set." Ema closed the door and sat at the control panel. "You ready?" "I can't do worse than yesterday, so sure." Ema flipped a switch and everything went dark under Phoenix's goggles. The scene changed to where the mission would be held tomorrow night. It was somewhat set in a city, but not a busy one. The building he had appeared infront of was the tallest one, but only by one story. Phoenix grabbed the lock pic from his bag and ran around the side of the building to the janitor entrance. He unlocked the door and slowly walked in, making sure he didn't make any noise. He started jogging, turning a few corners. He then ran up the stairs to the top floor, which made him run out of breathe. He picked the lock to the room at the end of the hallway, then slowly walking in. Someone, a guard probably, grabbed him from behind and choked him. Thinking quick, Phoenix bit his arm while grabbing the knife from his pocket. Phoenix didn't want to do it, but in the life or death situation, he had to kill the guard, or else he would be the one killed. Phoenix stabbed him in the stomach and the grip loosened as the guard feel to the floor. Phoenix ran over to the computer monitors in the room. _"Which one was it? Green? Yeah, the one with green tape."_ Phoenix grabbed the flash drive from his bag and stuck it in the computer. He looked through all the files until he found the one he was looking for. He then dragged it to the flash drive, saving on it. Phoenix then deleted the file from the computer after he took the flash drive out, along with other ones. He ran out of the room and down the stairs the way he came. The goggles faded out of the scenery and went back to the simulator room. He saw Ema behind the glass with Franziska sitting next to her. Ema opened the door for Phoenix. "You did great!" "Better than last time, that's for sure." He put the goggles on Ema an put her key card in the slot, moving her into the middle of the room. He walked out, closed the door, and sat next to Franziska, who was manning the controls. "Hi, I'm Ph-" "Don't interrupt me while I'm working you foolish fool! One small mistake at this panel could mean life or death!" _"Nice to meet you too. Might as well get straight to the point."_ "Why did your dad shoot Edgeworth's?" Phoenix whispered. Franziska stared at him for a long moment. "You know how to get my attention, Mr. Phoenix Wright." "How do you know my n-" "You're Miles new boyfriend, are you not?" "Uh, yeah." "Figures. You wouldn't want to know if you weren't close with him." "Um, oka-" "So I will tell you." _"Well, if I have to go through this hell to find out, I don't know."_ "Papa and Gregory Edgeworth were always rivals, but they would never hurt each other. Well, one time they were on a mission and Gregory made a mistake, causing Papa to mess up. Papa was furious, because Gregory ruined his perfect record. He threatened Gregory with a gun, and Gregory started struggling, making Papa accidentally pull the trigger. Papa didn't know that the gun was loaded, or else he would have never done it." Phoenix was speechless, surprised at what Franziska had just told him. "So your dad was just joking around?" "Well yes. He would have never threatened anybody if the gun was loaded." "I see." Ema finished her simulation and Franziska finished hers. Phoenix ate dinner with Larry and Edgeworth, finally getting to the room with them after a long day. He took a shower, sweaty from gym, and came out, not seeing Larry or Edgeworth. "Wonder where Larry is," he whispered, nobody else in the room. He walked to the music room and opened the door slowly. Edgeworth was strumming the guitar with a sad expression on his face, daydreaming. He looked up when Phoenix closed the door. "Hey Wright." "Hi. Mind if I here you play?" "I don't mind, but I don't like singing in front of others." "But I love your singing." "Still, it feel weird." "How about you pick a song, and I'll play it on the piano while you play the guitar and sing." "You play piano?" "Yeah. Will you do it?" "Sure. What song do you want?" "Do you know...hhhmmm...oh! I Don't Care by Fall Out Boy?" "Sure." Edgeworth let out a nervous sigh as Phoenix sat at the piano. "Okay, one two three, go!" Phoenix played while Edgeworth strummed a few notes. Phoenix had to repeat a few times before Edgeworthhad the strength to sing. "Say my name and his in the same breath, I dare you to say they taste the same. Let the leaves fall off in the summer, and let December glow in flames..." Edgeworth continued to sing, growing more confident with each note sang. "Said-a I don't care just what-a you think, as long as it's about me, you said-a..." Edgeworth jammed out on the guitar at the end. Phoenix turned around smiling. "That was awesome!" "You weren't too bad either." Phoenix and Edgeworth continued to play songs throughout the night. "Hey Edgeworth?" "Yeah?" "Do they ever let people out of here for like, a vacation?" "Yeah, why?" "I was wondering, if you weren't planning anything else, if you wanted to hang out with me on Saturday." "Sure! What were you planning?" "I'm not sure." "Well, you can think about it in the morning. I'm going to bed." "Okay. I'll come with you." The two boys walked back to their room, Phoenix's arm around Edgeworth's shoulder. "Good night." "Night."


	9. Chapter 8

"I swear Larry, if you mess this up I will kill you!" Edgeworth knew that Larry hadn't done well in the simulator and was nervous that he would blow up the mission for everybody.

"Shouldn't you be more worried about Nick?" "At least he passed his second practice! You only passed today! And that was barely!" Larry sighed in the back of the van, Phoenix sitting across from him and Edgeworth driving.

"The simulator was lowered in difficulty by three for you!" "Maybe because only one person can go in the simulator at a time and there's three of us, genius!"

Edgeworth continued to drive. "Look, I've almost got to a lot where we can park. It's far away from the building, so it won't cause suspicion." "Shouldn't you stay and watch?" "No. I can't trust you and this is Wright's first mission. Put those two things together and everything goes wrong." _"Nice to see you have my back, Edgey,"_ Phoenix grumbled to himself.

"Okay, we're here." Edgeworth parked the vehicle and opened the side door so Larry and Phoenix could get out. "Everybody got their weapon?" Phoenix patted his vest, feeling the knife and gun. Larry nodded, moving his hand to his pocket. Edgeworth felt the inside of his vest to make sure his knife was there. "Alright. Let's use the alleys. Less suspicion that way."

They jogged all the way to the building, not having any trouble all the way. "Okay, are you guys ready?" Phoenix and Larry nodded. Edgeworth kept his hand on the door knob. He took a deep breath and shoved the door open, knife ready. Sure enough, there was a guard at the door, startled by him. Before the guard could do anything, however, Edgeworth stabbed him directly in the heart.

Phoenix's eyes snapped open, seeing what Edgeworth did in that split second. "Come on, Wright. We barely started the mission and your already making us behind on time." Phoenix could tell Edgeworth was upset at his actions, but shook his head and followed the two up the stairs and down the hallway, letting them handle the other guards.

At the end of the hallway, Phoenix volunteered to work the computer. "I haven't been doing anything, so at least let me do this." Edgeworth nodded, knowing that Phoenix was doing okay in technology. He picked the lock and slowly opened the door. Somebody was watching the monitors.

 _"I figured they would go down once they saw us!"_ Edgeworth walked in past Phoenix, eyes widening when he saw the back of the guards head in the chair. Phoenix then realized why Edgeworth was so scared when the guard spun his chair around. Shi-Long Lang had a smirk on his face, twirling a gun in his hand.

"Oh hey Miles, Porcupine..." He looked at Larry. "You." Edgeworth started breathing heavy. "Why the hell are you here, Shi-Long?!" Phoenix cried, moving himself to the side of Edgeworth. Shi-Long let out an evil cackle. "You seriously don't know, Porcupine?! When you want to go against the people that left you to the street, you have to start from somewhere. That's why I'm in this dump."

Phoenix growled, irritated. _"I've got to get us out of this situation!"_ "What do you want, Shi-Long?" Shi-Long showed his teeth in the evil smile. He aimed the gun at Edgeworth, frozen in fright. "I just want him dead."

Edgeworth shut his eyes closed, stiff as a board. He forgot all of his training at that moment, because of the adult 'bully at school'. Somebody screamed and then a gunshot, followed by a crash of glass.

Edgeworth, still feeling the same, opened his eyes and saw the blood stain on the floor. He snapped around and saw the glass wall, looking over the city, broken. He turned back around, only seeing a shocked Larry and an angry Shi-Long, reloading his gun.

"No..." he whispered. "NO!" Edgeworth jumped at Shi-Long, angry as hell. Shi-Long cussed under his breath. "Die, you little #%$!"

Shi-Long was about to fire when Larry aided Edgeworth, kicking the gun out of Shi-Long's hands. Edgeworth began punching Shi-Long, but he threw Edgeworth off, Edgeworth skidding across the floor. He got back up and jumped on Shi-Long again.

"You son of a bitch!" Edgeworth screamed. Guards from other rooms started coming, but Edgeworth didn't care. He grabbed the knife from inside his vest and brought it above his head, aiming to stab Shi-Long's neck. To his surprise, Lang started laughing under his breath.

"You'll always be my scared, little rabbit, Miles. Always." Edgeworth paused at the words. "Die, you bastard." With that, Edgeworth brought down the knife into Shi-Long's neck. He sighed, looking into Lang's psychotic, open, dead eyes. Grabbing the knife from his neck, Edgeworth stood up and turned around to help Larry.

Wanting to get to Wright on a thin line of hope, he worked fast, kicking and cutting. "Edgey, we got to get out of here!" "We have to look for Wright first!" "He's dead, you idiot! Dead!" "He's not dead!" "Yes he is! Did you see that fall?!" "I won't believe it until I see it for myself!" "Your gonna get yourself killed too if you look for him!" "I don't care!"

Edgeworth ran out the door, slicing through guards one by one. He went down every floor, looking for Phoenix right below the window. Finally, on the 6th floor of 10, Edgeworth saw Phoenix's bloody body laying in the room, having busted through another glass wall.

"WRIGHT!" Edgeworth ran over, turning Phoenix's body over so he could see his face. Phoenix was badly cut and he had, and was still, coughing up blood.

"Dammit Wright! WHY THE HELL DID YOU DO THAT?!" Phoenix looked at Edgeworth with droopy eyes and smiled, despite the situation. "I'm...I'm not dead...so don't blame me yet." "YET?! The hell does that mean?! You're going to be okay, you here me?! OKAY!" Phoenix actually believed Edgeworth, not seeing any Psyche-Locks.

He wanted to see Edgeworth's face, that's all. Just his face, but his closing eyes said otherwise. "No! WRIGHT STAY WITH ME!" Edgeworth slapped Phoenix, not thinking. "Stay!" *slap* "AWAKE!" *slap* "DAMMIT!" *slap*

Edgeworth couldn't do anything, though. Scared half to death, he pulled Phoenix into a hugging position, hearing a faint heart beat and shallow breath. "It's okay...It's okay..."

Edgeworth wanted to see if Phoenix had any other injuries besides on his face, so he laid Phoenix down softly and pulled the vest and shirt off. The gunshot had hit him on the shoulder, but in was nowhere near any major organs. He had other cuts and scraps everywhere, but that was to be expected, falling through two windows.

Larry came running in. "Oh God please no..." Edgeworth looked up. "He's breathing, but with the blood still coming out, I'm not sure how long he'll last until he needs a transfusion. Help me get him out of here." Larry's eyes snapped open, hearing that Phoenix was breathing.

Larry grabbed Phoenix's legs and ran out of the building with Edgeworth, no guards surprisingly running or shooting at them. Through the alleys, Edgeworth heard Larry sniffle back sobs. "What's wrong, Larry?" Edgeworth asked through pants of breath, the adrenaline rush fading away.

"I was going to leave him...just like Goodman. If I left him...he could be dead...or tortured...frick." Edgeworth raised an eyebrow. "Like Goodman?" Larry shook his head. "I'll tell you in the van."

When they did get to the van, Edgeworth sat in the back this time, Larry volunteering to drive. Edgeworth attempted to smooth back a strip of hair on Phoenix's forehead, poking out, but it just fell back in place, going up then going down in a curving motion right smack dab in the middle of his forehead.

"So...what about Goodman?" Larry sighed at the wheel, edging above the speed limit. "It's my fault. I should have known something was wrong." "Now, why would you blame yourself for that?" "Cause I could...I could have gone to their mission sight...or just something." Edgeworth shook his head. "Larry, your blaming yourself for something that isn't your fault." "I know, but what would have happened if I did interfere? Would Goodman still have his eye?!" "If you intervened, then you would be dead. They went on a level 8 mission and we're still on 6!"

Larry looked like he was going to smash the wheel. "Whatever. What the hell did Shi-Long say to you?"

Edgeworth paused rubbing Phoenix's hair. "It...has a story behind it. A long, boring story that you don't want to hear." Larry looked in the mirror and saw Phoenix's bracelet glowing, but a lighter green. "Oh, come on Edgey. You can tell me."

Edgeworth sighed. "Fine. Tell me when you want to stop listening." "Can you tell me what he said first, then explain?" "Okay, fine. He, um, said 'You'll always be my scared, little rabbit, Miles. Always."

"The hell does that mean?! And why is he saying 'my'?!" Edgeworth was silent, remembering a year ago. "After a week or so of us...'dating' if you want to call it that, Shi-Long started calling me little rabbit. You know I'm not the best at physical." "So...that's his nickname for you? Why the hell would he say my then, if he didn't say it before?!"

Edgeworth began to have tears form in his eyes. This was just all too much. Killing his once-boyfriend, even though it wasn't really true, his new boyfriend getting hurt, and for some reason kept remembering his father. He forced the tears back and continued.

"I don't want to sound...self centered or anything...but maybe he did like me...even if it was just friendship. I mean, he wasn't like that before and maybe that 'embarrassing' thing was just HIS attempt at HIS humor. That is when he started hanging out with...how should I put it...'the big jocks.'"

Larry nodded. "I think your actually right, but I think your forgetting that he wanted you dead." "Then why would he say MY little rabbit?" "He's the fox," Larry said bluntly. "And your his prey. I mean, I don't think he would have done that before 'the cool kids' or whatever, but after that, he just became twisted."

Edgeworth nodded. Larry was actually making sense for once. "I see your point." They continued in silence, Larry gripping the steering-wheel and Edgeworth, still in back, hand over Phoenix's heart, making sure there was a beat. Larry finally got back and parked the van in the garage, helping Edgeworth carry Phoenix once again.

Some people stared at them, running down the hallway. "Larry, come on, go faster!" "It's kind of hard to run when your carrying a body." "Ugh, just run faster."

They finally got to the medical area and handed Phoenix to the nurse. She was shocked at first, but did her work. "Get out," she said bluntly. "Why?!" Edgeworth snapped. "Because this is serious and I can't have any distractions! Now get out!" Without further argument, Edgeworth and Larry walked out and sat against the wall.

"Is it more serious than I thought?" "No. I don't think so," Larry replied, trying to cheer Edgeworth up. "You know how serious that nurse is. She doesn't want any distractions." Edgeworth nodded, but didn't believe Larry fully. All he could do was hope and pray that Phoenix would be alright.

Without thinking, he pulled his knees against his chest and started crying softly, everything that has happened in his life getting to him.


End file.
